Convicted Rochester Murderer Likely Headed Back to Prison

Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - A Rochester man who has already served time for murder is facing another long prison term for a stalking conviction.

Olmsted County District Court Judge Joseph Chase has approved a prosecutor’s request for a longer sentence in the case of 46-year-old Mark Huyber.

He admitted breaking into a woman’s home last year while she was away. The woman returned that evening and discovered her home was filled with natural gas spewing from a cut section of the supply line to the furnace. It was also discovered that sugar had been poured into the gas tank of a vehicle parked inside the garage. Following his arrest, Huyber admitted to breaking into the home and vandalizing the vehicle but denied he was responsible for severing the natural gas line.

Huyber was given an 18-year prison sentence in 2000 after he pleaded guilty to a 2nd-degree murder charge for fatally shooting a Detroit man.

He was given a stayed prison sentence for threatening a woman several months after his release in 2014. Huyber was sent to prison two years later for another domestic incident involving the same woman.

In his order approving a longer sentence than what’s called for under sentencing guidelines, Chase based his decision on Huyber’s "long involvement in criminal activity “ and “the violent nature of his criminal activity.”